IMDb age discrimination suit could cause actress to be 'blacklisted,' says US lawyer

In a court filing on behalf of the anonymous actress suing the movie website for revealing her age as 40, a lawyer for the Screen Actors Guild contends that if the woman were to reveal her identity — as IMDb has requested — “the very harm [to her career] she is complaining about will be drastically exacerbated.” The filing also evokes the spectre of the Hollywood blacklist, noting that performers today still have ”concerns about being blacklisted once identified as a ‘complainer,’ and have been very reticent to publicly step forward due to the anticipated career and personal consequences for doing so. This is equally true, or perhaps even more so, with 9 respect to complaints against IMDb for the unauthorized publication of personal information, including dates of birth.”

The actress’ own counsel also contends in a separate filing that divulging her name would exacerbate the retaliation, harassment, and ridicule she has already experienced as a result of the suit.